NOCs for 17 units cancelled for water recharge violations in Noida

Officials noted that the erring units had obtained NOCs from the department about two years ago and were expected to adhere to the guidelines within a year at most

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration has taken action against 17 industrial units for failing to implement water recharge mechanisms, leading to the cancellation of their No Objection Certificates (NOCs), officials said on Friday.

According to officials, the groundwater department in Gautam Budh Nagar identified these units within the district for violating various groundwater regulations, including the absence of rainwater harvesting systems. (Representative Image)

According to officials, the groundwater department in Gautam Budh Nagar identified these units within the district for violating various groundwater regulations, including the absence of rainwater harvesting systems.

In response to these violations, the district magistrate, Manish Kumar Verma, ordered the cancellation of the NOCs that permitted these establishments to withdraw groundwater.

“District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma had ordered the identification of establishments that were not adhering to groundwater department norms and failing to implement adequate water conservation measures. During a meeting held on Thursday, the DM ordered the cancellation of the no-objection certificates of the 17 identified industrial units across the district,” Ankita Rai, a hydrologist from the Groundwater Department, said.

Officials noted that the erring units had obtained NOCs from the department about two years ago and were expected to adhere to the guidelines within a year at most. NOCs will only be reissued to these establishments after they comply with the specified rules.

“These establishments had not complied with several norms, such as installing rainwater harvesting systems for water recharge, not submitting groundwater extraction fees, and failing to provide monthly reports on flowmeter and speedometer data. These reports were meant to be submitted within a year after obtaining an NOC for borewell installation to extract groundwater,” said Rai.

District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma also instructed the department and relevant officials to gather information about other defaulting units not following the guidelines and to initiate appropriate actions. “A task force has also been directed to conduct inspections of commercial, public, and industrial establishments to ensure compliance with water conservation measures,” DM Verma said.

Meanwhile, in a related sustainability update, HCL Tech, based in Noida, in their report for the financial year 2022-23 said that it had replenished 26 times more water than it consumed in India during the 2022-23 fiscal year. The company also announced its membership in the Water Resilience Coalition, becoming the first India-headquartered firm to join this initiative.